Rabada misses first Test with rib injury as SA bat first

The Proteas, missing Kagiso Rabada, made a solid start to the first Test against India on Friday, reaching 105/3 at lunch.

Temba Bavuma won an important toss, with the decision to bat first an obvious one on an Eden Garden surface that has already shown assistance for the spinners, while the extra bounce has made judgement of length hard. Wiaan Mulder, on 22, and Tony de Zorzi, on 15, will resume their partnership, currently worth 62, after the interval.

With reverse swing expected later in the match, the absence of Rabada is even more critical. South Africa’s spearhead, who’s picked up 340 wickets in 73 Tests, picked up a rib injury at training on Tuesday.

The extent of the ailment isn’t yet known, but it was confirmed by management that it wasn’t a fracture.

Corbin Bosch was slotted in as a replacement and will share the new ball with Marco Jansen. Mulder was also recalled to the starting team after missing the second Test against Pakistan in Rawalpindi, with Senuran Muthusamy, player of the match in that Test, dropped.

It means South Africa are playing just two frontline spinners — Keshav Maharaj and Simon Harmer — though Aiden Markram and Tristan Stubbs might be called on to bowl some off-spin.

By contrast, India have chosen four frontline spinners, including Washington Sundar, who is marked down to bat at No 3.

Markram and Ryan Rickelton shared an opening stand of 57, South Africa’s first 50 partnership in India since 2008, taking advantage of some wayward bowling, particularly from Mohammad Siraj.

But Jasprit Bumrah, whose battle with Rabada was so keenly anticipated in this series, then produced two superb deliveries to get rid of the openers.

Rickelton, after hitting four fours in his innings of 23, was beaten on the outside edge by a ball that nipped away and lost his off-stump.

Markram, after taking 23 balls to get off the mark, looked in excellent touch and reached 31 before Bumrah got some extra bounce, finding the shoulder of the South African vice-captain’s bat with Rishabh Pant taking an easy catch.

Bavuma was caught at leg gully by Dhruv Jurel off Kuldeep Yadav, who got several deliveries to spin alarmingly, for three, and South Africa needed Mulder and De Zorzi to stabilise the innings thereafter.

Batting first was clearly the correct choice, but South Africa need to make it count, and De Zorzi and Mulder have a lot of work to do in the second session.